What happens when you combine trained musicians from the world-renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston, with an articulate emcee and breathtaking beat-wizard both born and raised in sunny, southern California? Crown City Rockers, that's what - a genre-blending hip-hop collective whose music is original, powerful and provocative all in the same breath and follows in the storied footsteps of such pioneers as The Roots, De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. With an organic blend of lush, funk-drenched grooves, riveting classic soul samples, sharp live instrumentation and of course old-school inflected rhymes, Crown City Rockers is a welcome breath of fresh air in today's commercially cluttered hip-hop cosmos. Comprised of stellar emcee Raashan Ahmad, producer Woodstock, keyboardist Kat Ouano, bassist/producer Headnodic, and drummer Max MacVeety, Crown City Rockers formed in Beantown's Roxbury section during the late nineties. The Crown City Rockers' epic full-length LP, Earthtones was release late last year. It is an astonishing achievement, seamlessly fusing all of the group's sonic facets together. Indeed, the album overflows with Raashan's battle raps, poetic musings and emotionally fraught tracks about life and love. The lyrics are, in turn, melded with Kat's keyboards, Max's drums and Headnodic and Woodstock's beats - which run the creative gamut frum funk and soul, to jazz, to straight classic hip-hop. REVIEWS "Earthtones not only captures the energy of CCR's gigs, but stands on its own as a meticulously produced studio effort, interweaving the rhythmic op of classic hip hop and Parliament era funk, the smooth flow of post bop and 70's soul, and the gleeful sense of experimentation that has characterized the Bay Area scene..." Sam Chennault SF Weekly, - Aug. 2004 "Mission: trying to break the cycle of hypocrisy and monotonous stereotypes within hip-hop. And all along the way, the magic of the music still supports a guaranteed head-nod, backspin or record scratch." Marlon Regis - RollingStone.com RS870 June 7, 2001 "With a strong stage show and a promising debut, Mission: has much to celebrate in the present and a bright future ahead." Mosi Reeves - URB Magazine July-August 2001 "Imagine Herbie Hancock meets A Tribe Called Quest at a party where the DJ has a Jimi Hendrix hangover, but he's rockin' Stevie Wonder and Biz Markie." Michael Wharton - XLR8R Magazine June 2001 "...Mixing positive messages and live instrumentation Oakland, California based Mission: brings its signature style to the masses..." Rashaun Hall - Billboard Magazine June 2, 2001 "...Mission: infuse(s) a highly musical sensibility into basic b-boyism... the six piece SF based outfit throw down for the cause with an admirably honest effort that shows, more than anything else, their dedication to the art form..." "...anyone who's caught one of their live shows... already knows the fevered intensity the group can bring." Eric K. Arnold - San Francisco Bay Guardian May 2001 Crown City Rockers - Video Biography Crown City Rockers - Official "B-Boy" Video One Mission: (aka Crown City Rockers) $19.99 Earthtones Crown City Rockers $17.99 WEBSITE: http://www.crowncityrockers.com/